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From: Courtney Thomas (no email)
Date: Thu Mar 03 2005 - 14:11:52 EST
Bill,
At the end of what you're starting, I point out a couple of things from
my perspective:
1-Relatively inexpensive small houses can be had in Mexico since you
want to be in the heat :-) Don't know how much you'll like livin' in
it though. I'd try it first if I were you. I thought the same thing but
after spending a Summer in Oriental, NC, and I was born and reared in
the South, I opted for NE Canada for about 1/4 the money. I lived in
Denver for 10 years so am somewhat familiar with colder climates, which
I prefer to hot. Another thing is that virtually anything on the U.S.
waterfront will be very expensive and worse....crowded.
2-Good inexpensive wooden boats can be bought that are in good shape,
are well preserved and excellent value. Takes time to find it though.
Allow a year. Just get it evaluated by a reliable surveyor. All boats
are gonna take more than you'd prefer, unless you love maintenance. You
better like SOME, for sure :-) or you'll endure, not enjoy, sailing.
There's lot's of prejudice in all this, like all things. There's good
examples of every kind, and bad; each merits & demerits.
3-Start readin'. www.abebooks.com has good value in used books and I
have bought/read several hundred on this topic since beginning my odyssey.
Since you sound like you're similarly situated, why not start out with a
small inexpensive house on the water either in Mexico or Canada, and an
inexpensive boat, i.e. wooden, older fiberglass, etc. and once you KNOW
you love it and want to virtually live on it, THEN buy a suitable boat
for sailing AND living.
BTW, it takes a long time [years] to put all this together, so you're by
no means starting too soon. Even after you figure out what you DO want,
to avoid gettin' skinned, you'll need several years even from that point
to prevent overpayment for everything.
HTH,
Courtney
Bill Simms wrote:
> I'm beginning to think about retirement since it is
> creeping up on me in about 6 years. I've thought about
> going sailing for the long term after selling out and
> moving from the snow to a warm climate. Real estate
> being what it is, I'm not sure that I will be able to
> afford both a house and a boat as I've read that some
> plan. Since I've lived in a house all my life I
> thought a boat would be agood thing to do.
>
> I've been reading a lot about the various hull and
> deck building materials. I've ruled out wood since I
> don't want to spend all my time maintaining the boat.
> An aluminum hull seems like it might puncture easily
> and then there is the corrosion thing. What happens if
> I drop some piece of metal in the bilge and it
> corrodes the hull? Concrete just doesn't seem like it
> would be a good material at all since it is made with
> water and would need quite a bit of metal inside and
> that might rust away.
>
> A larger (maybe 45 feet) older fiberglass boat might
> be a good boat but I wonder about problems with the
> keel falling off if it is bolted on or if it is
> inside, the effects of rubbing against coral reefs and
> rocks.
>
> Steel would seem to be a good thing although I would
> have to learn to weld to make repairs but how do I
> know when to lmake repairs apart from the fact that
> water might be coming in? When is a steel hull too
> thin? How would I tell if it is too thin if and when I
> see one? I've heard of something called "corten" steel
> that is supposed to be good but know even less about
> that. Is that a good thing?
>
> Obviously I have a lot to learn. Would appreciate some
> pointers as to how the older fiberglass boats and
> steel boats do in warmer waters living on at the dock
> or at anchor, going from continent to continent, and
> what I should look for when I start looking in
> earnest. I've got a few years to plan and this seemed
> like a good place to start getting information. Does
> anyone have any first hand experience or some links
> they could point me to?
>
>
> =====
> Will
>
>
>
>
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